Pre-Trip The "After The Last 8 Months We've Had, We NEED This Trip" Pre-Trip Report

MegRuss626 · Jun 13, 2018

When: October 19th through October 22nd
We're doing a long weekend with most of our time spent at MK. My husband for years was a very firm "we're not taking our child until they're ATLEAST 8". When we found out we were pregnant, he turned into "We'll take a break for a few years and do her first big trip in December 2021 for the 50th anniversary". (If you're not good at math, that'll make Ryleigh 4 not 8!

) When Daddy's little girl first fell in love with the sight of Mickey, he turned into "We need to take her this year for a long weekend!! She needs to meet Mickey!!" (If you're still not good at math, that'll make her 1 year and 4 months...def not 8!) We're not making any dining reservations because I want it to be laid back and just enjoying being there as a family for the first time.

Where: Pop Century - preferred pool view
We stayed here in November 2015 and really enjoyed it. I grew up staying at the values so they have a nostalgic feel for me.

Why: Well that's a lengthy one...
We may have decided we were going/booked today but the idea of taking Ryleigh for a long weekend has been one we've been talking about for almost 10 months. Our trip was originally supposed to be in December of this year. We booked for the first weekend in December at the Contemporary. My mom and grandma were going because how could they miss Ryleigh's first trip? I always had a funny feeling about the trip and never fully got excited. I couldn't figure out why and then March 7th happened. My mom had a massive stroke while at work and was in a medically induced coma for about 3 weeks. For the first week, we had nurses telling my sister and I that "they try not to get their hopes up with these types of patients". Thankfully, she fought like a place I cannot type on this forum and she's still here with us today. She's still struggling with her memory and some other things but she's getting stronger everyday. I knew that the December trip just wasn't in the cards for all of us and I tearfully canceled our trip a couple weeks ago. I know she'll get there with us one day soon though!

Fast forward to this afternoon...
My husband and I were talking about what to get each other for our anniversary (June 26th). He looked at me and said "I'd like to take you to Disney. We've been through a lot in these past few months and I feel like its something we need to do." :inlove:

He brought the calendar in and we picked a weekend in October that would be ideal with his shifts. I checked flights and they were very reasonable. We checked hotel prices and again, reasonable. My sister is available to babysit our zoo (two dogs and two cats) and she assured me that despite everything going on that it was okay to go. And I actually started to feel some excitement that I was going to go to Disney. So here I sit typing this pre-trip report! I was just telling @blgauger the other day that I wish I could talk George into going for our anniversary and here I am getting a trip as a present! Maybe I'll even get a @Tuvalu sighting! (I checked for our December trip and she wasn't going to be there! haha)

MotherofaPrincessLover · Jun 13, 2018

That is a little cutie you have there! I hope you guys have a wonderful trip.

becca_ · Jun 13, 2018

Wow, seems like you guys definitely deserve a trip!! So excited for you all and what a great new addition to bring along :joyfull:

LisaBelle · Jun 13, 2018

MegRuss626 said:
When: October 19th through October 22nd
We're doing a long weekend with most of our time spent at MK. My husband for years was a very firm "we're not taking our child until they're ATLEAST 8". When we found out we were pregnant, he turned into "We'll take a break for a few years and do her first big trip in December 2021 for the 50th anniversary". (If you're not good at math, that'll make Ryleigh 4 not 8! ) When Daddy's little girl first fell in love with the sight of Mickey, he turned into "We need to take her this year for a long weekend!! She needs to meet Mickey!!" (If you're still not good at math, that'll make her 1 year and 4 months...def not 8!) We're not making any dining reservations because I want it to be laid back and just enjoying being there as a family for the first time.

Where: Pop Century - preferred pool view
We stayed here in November 2015 and really enjoyed it. I grew up staying at the values so they have a nostalgic feel for me.

Why: Well that's a lengthy one...
We may have decided we were going/booked today but the idea of taking Ryleigh for a long weekend has been one we've been talking about for almost 10 months. Our trip was originally supposed to be in December of this year. We booked for the first weekend in December at the Contemporary. My mom and grandma were going because how could they miss Ryleigh's first trip? I always had a funny feeling about the trip and never fully got excited. I couldn't figure out why and then March 7th happened. My mom had a massive stroke while at work and was in a medically induced coma for about 3 weeks. For the first week, we had nurses telling my sister and I that "they try not to get their hopes up with these types of patients". Thankfully, she fought like a place I cannot type on this forum and she's still here with us today. She's still struggling with her memory and some other things but she's getting stronger everyday. I knew that the December trip just wasn't in the cards for all of us and I tearfully canceled our trip a couple weeks ago. I know she'll get there with us one day soon though!

Fast forward to this afternoon...
My husband and I were talking about what to get each other for our anniversary (June 26th). He looked at me and said "I'd like to take you to Disney. We've been through a lot in these past few months and I feel like its something we need to do." He brought the calendar in and we picked a weekend in October that would be ideal with his shifts. I checked flights and they were very reasonable. We checked hotel prices and again, reasonable. My sister is available to babysit our zoo (two dogs and two cats) and she assured me that despite everything going on that it was okay to go. And I actually started to feel some excitement that I was going to go to Disney. So here I sit typing this pre-trip report! I was just telling @blgauger the other day that I wish I could talk George into going for our anniversary and here I am getting a trip as a present! Maybe I'll even get a @Tuvalu sighting! (I checked for our December trip and she wasn't going to be there! haha)

First of all, Ryleigh is precious! I am sitting here with tears in my eyes reading about how your husband told you he wanted to take you to Disney for your anniversary! So sweet! I hope things continue to improve for your mom. I will be following! So happy you decided to do a TR!

Tuvalu · Jun 13, 2018

Ryleigh is a doll! So happy you still get to go this year. I have no plans to visit the world in October, but you never know!

blreinsel · Jun 15, 2018

MegRuss626 said:
"I'd like to take you to Disney.

MegRuss626 said:
I was just telling @blgauger the other day that I wish I could talk George into going for our anniversary and here I am getting a trip as a present!

I sent as much pixie dust your way as I possibly could! :joyfull:

MegRuss626 · Jun 27, 2018

114 days to go!!!

Yesterday was our actual anniversary...8 years!

And I’d say he did pretty good in the present department....

We’ve also made two reservations since I last posted! (Inspired by other trip reports of course!)

Since the trip was spontaneous, we missed the 180 day window which meant we would have to miss one of our faves....lunch at Be Our Guest.

And as I’ve commented in @Tuvalu many posts, our last meal there in 2016 was subpar so I need some redemption. When I broke the news to my husband that there were no reservations left, he was prob more heartbroken than me! Enter one of @blgauger recent posts about finding a last minute reservation for one. My husband and I each have a reservation....one at 12:10 and one at 12:20. I figured it would work for lunch because you seat yourself. Has anyone done this and had success? Fingers crossed

Our second reservation was inspired by a @dryerlintfan trip report. We booked the HEA dessert party with plaza garden viewing. She pointed out it was much easier and less stressful to keep track of a smaller child in the confined area rather than out with the chaotic masses of people. Plus, I have not seen HEA yet (a skeptical member of Team Wishes

) so it should give us a pretty decent view without the stress. And even though I’m a picky eater, I do love dessert!

Tuvalu · Jun 27, 2018

Yes having two “single” BOG ADRs will work perfectly fine....

You won’t regret the HEA dessert party with Plaza Garden viewing! A highlight of last week’s trip!!

blreinsel · Jun 28, 2018

Yay! So glad you got BOG reservations! You’ll be just fine having separate ones and sitting together. I’ve done it twice now with no issues.

MegRuss626 · Jul 12, 2018

Hi everyone! We’ve officially hit double digits....99 days to go! Since my last post...

Princess Ryleigh turned one!!!

And she had her birthday party....outside....on the hottest day in the history of all hot days....not kidding, it was hotter up here than in Disney!!!

As far as things that have happened that pertain to our actual trip...I have discovered that there is a forum dedicated strictly to traveling to WDW with kids...who knew?

#thingsyoulearnwhenyoufinallyhavekids My inner obsessive planner wants to start making lists EXCEPT I have no idea where to begin because kids change so much in such a short amount of time that it seems kind of pointless to start now. I’ve started stalking all shirts that are Disney on Etsy because are you even a real family if you don’t match at Disney??? (Can’t order til closer to the trip though because these tiny humans like to grow for some reason?) This led me to realize that she might have outgrown her current shorts by the end of October (duh) and I feel the odds of finding shorts that time of year are very slim. So my Kohl’s shopping cart is filled with shorts in the next size so I can order them tomorrow when my coupon starts!

We’ve also been going back and forth on the sleeping situation. I read that Disney’s cribs are Graco pack n plays. Nothing wrong with them but I don’t know if she will be comfy on the harder surface for 3 nights. #firstworldbabyprobs So then I started looking into renting a full size crib from A Baby's Best Friend. They seem like a reputable company and she would be comfier. Then I thought I could just order a mattress from amazon and have it sent to the hotel then just leave it there buuuuut I learned in the kids forums that Disney keeps those kind of items in separate storage places and it can be a hassle. So back to renting the crib. Then I found on amazon a tri-fold mattress for the pack n play that should fit into one of our checked bags. We are flying southwest so we should have room in 4 suitscases

So that’s where we are on that one. If anyone has any experience with any of these things, feel free to share with this first time Mom!

We get to make our fastpasses next month (eeeep! Next month!) so I will prob be back before then for some advice!

MegRuss626 · Jul 12, 2018

MotherofaPrincessLover said:
That is a little cutie you have there! I hope you guys have a wonderful trip.

Thank you!!

becca_ said:
Wow, seems like you guys definitely deserve a trip!! So excited for you all and what a great new addition to bring along

I am super excited to take her...we’ve been talking about it since we found out we were expecting!

LisaBelle said:
First of all, Ryleigh is precious! I am sitting here with tears in my eyes reading about how your husband told you he wanted to take you to Disney for your anniversary! So sweet! I hope things continue to improve for your mom. I will be following! So happy you decided to do a TR!

Thank you so much...I’m a little partial but I think so too! I may have had some tears when he brought it up

He’s def a keeper!

Tuvalu said:
Ryleigh is a doll! So happy you still get to go this year. I have no plans to visit the world in October, but you never know!

Thank you!

MegRuss626 · Jul 12, 2018

Tuvalu said:
Yes having two “single” BOG ADRs will work perfectly fine....

You won’t regret the HEA dessert party with Plaza Garden viewing! A highlight of last week’s trip!!

blgauger said:
Yay! So glad you got BOG reservations! You’ll be just fine having separate ones and sitting together. I’ve done it twice now with no issues.

Yayy! So happy I don’t have to miss BOG! George is still feeling a little like we’re “cheating the system” but he’s already picking out what he’s going to order!

I cannot wait for the dessert party. I’ve read a lot of trip reports that HEA has won the hearts of Wishes fans so let’s hope! Maybe I should wear my Farewell Wishes shirt

MegRuss626 · Jul 19, 2018

Heyy....me again! A version of vacation creep has set in and we're getting the itch to maybe switch to a MK area resort for convenience. I'm currently "chatting" with Vonda, Minnie Mouse's secretary on the WDW site. (I use chatting loosely because her responses almost seem automated...not really getting much "help") So I decided to bring my question to the experts...

It is showing up that there is no availability in some hotels and only one or two rooms types at others for our dates. Has anyone ever had this problem? Is there an event going on? Is this normal because we booked last minute? Am I just meant to stay at Pop Century???

PS - 92 days!

grwnupprincess · Jul 19, 2018

we rented a full size crib for our Disney trip last fall through this company https://www.amusementparkrentals.com/- great service and crib was in pretty good shape (I did bring my own sheets) - our 22 month old definitely slept better in a full size as opposed to the pack n play - have a great time!

MegRuss626 · Jul 20, 2018

Welp....91 Days! I’m gonna start this one with a backstory then some news!

I took my first trip in April 1993. We stayed at the Contemporary with a theme park view (my grandma wanted the experience from the 90's commercial where they opened th curtain and the castle was right there). This was the trip I fell in love with Disney World. As a child whose 3rd favorite Disney movie is Mary Poppins (1st and 2nd are Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast), we naturally had breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Upon entering the GF lobby for the first time, my little 6 year old self had her breath taken away and it was love at first sight!

Now in all my trips since I’ve stayed at many hotels....many times at All-Star Music and Movies (my family felt those were more kid friendly), The Contemporary (again), The Yacht Club (LOVE!), The Caribbean Beach (way tooooo big...I got lost walking back to our room EVERY TIME that week!!), Pop Century (LOVE that tye-dyed cheesecake!), and AKL Kidani Village (2 bedroom villa with a savannah view

). You’ll notice out of all of these trips the past 26 years that the GF is not in that list......

Until.....

Can’t...just can’t....

Nala06 · Jul 20, 2018

MegRuss626 said:
We’ve also been going back and forth on the sleeping situation. I read that Disney’s cribs are Graco pack n plays. Nothing wrong with them but I don’t know if she will be comfy on the harder surface for 3 nights. #firstworldbabyprobs So then I started looking into renting a full size crib from A Baby's Best Friend. They seem like a reputable company and she would be comfier. Then I thought I could just order a mattress from amazon and have it sent to the hotel then just leave it there buuuuut I learned in the kids forums that Disney keeps those kind of items in separate storage places and it can be a hassle. So back to renting the crib. Then I found on amazon a tri-fold mattress for the pack n play that should fit into one of our checked bags. We are flying southwest so we should have room in 4 suitscases So that’s where we are on that one. If anyone has any experience with any of these things, feel free to share with this first time Mom!

I had planned on renting a crib from an outside company, but by the time I went to do it they were out. So, we used the pack n play through Disney for our trip last year with a 2.5 year old. Since he was older, I didn't have any qualms wrapping an extra blanket from the room around the "mattress" it comes with a few times to pad it up a bit. Of course with a younger child, this is totally up to your comfort level. My 2.5 year slept in the pack n play just fine every night for 10 nights! Bonus, the pack n play was small enough to stick into the spare bathroom area at the Poly, which I think helped more than the type of bed for getting him comfortable to sleep. He had his own dark, quiet area.

blreinsel · Jul 21, 2018

Omg this is so exciting!!!

So excited for you! And jealous.

Zipadeelady · Jul 21, 2018

GF!!!! How exciting!!

ScarletBegonias · Jul 22, 2018

I'm in!!!! Your daughter is soooo cute!
OHHH the GF! This is going to be quite a trip!

Pre-Trip The "After The Last 8 Months We've Had, We NEED This Trip" Pre-Trip Report

MegRuss626

Well-Known Member

MotherofaPrincessLover

Well-Known Member

becca_

Well-Known Member

LisaBelle

Well-Known Member

Tuvalu

Well-Known Member

blreinsel

Well-Known Member

MegRuss626

Well-Known Member

Tuvalu

Well-Known Member

blreinsel

Well-Known Member

MegRuss626

Well-Known Member

MegRuss626

Well-Known Member

MegRuss626

Well-Known Member

MegRuss626

Well-Known Member

grwnupprincess

Member

MegRuss626

Well-Known Member

Nala06

Well-Known Member

blreinsel

Well-Known Member

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member